Two men jailed on murder charges; three more wanted

Created 12/06/2010 - 6:29pm

Two men are now in jail for the Sept. 20 murder of Brian M. Horton, 31, who police believe was beaten while his attackers drove him across town.

Just after midnight Saturday, Metro police arrested Curtis Lewis, 34, one of five men wanted in connection with Horton’s murder, at his home at 4201 Sandstone Drive. Another suspect in the murder, Horace King, 39, was already in jail on a felony probation violation.

Authorities are still searching for 29-year-old Ronald D. Sanderson, 30-year-old Robert L. Carter Jr. and 39-year-old Antonio M. Bean after a grand jury indicted the five men last week on charges of first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping.

Police said individuals who later dropped Horton off at Skyline Medical Center in the early morning hours of Sept. 21 lied about Horton’s injuries, saying he’d been beaten during a violent carjacking.

But Metro police later said the alleged beating was apparently drug related and Horton was beaten inside a vehicle after being picked up from Owendale Drive in Antioch before his attackers dropped him off in north Nashville.

According to police, the attackers sought drug-related information from Horton.

He had no identification on him at the time and police identified him through his fingerprints.

Horton was serving a supervised release from jail on federal cocaine and firearm convictions. U.S. marshals had sought Horton after he made probation in the summer of 2009 and then disappeared.

Dating back to 1997, Horton had previous convictions, including those for trespassing, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, resisting arrest and falsifying license plates.

Sanderson is last known to have lived on South 10th Street, while Bean is last known to have lived on Avalon Drive. Carter’s last known address is on Hardison Drive in Franklin.

Police urge anyone seeing Sanderson, Carter or Bean to contact Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME. The public can also send an electronic tip to Crime Stoppers by texting the word “CASH” along with their message to 274637 (CRIMES) or online at www.nashvillecrimestoppers.com[1].